The Library of

Professor hester​

The Catholic Church of Our Day

The Catholic Church of the 21st Century is not the church that is described in this book. For almost 1900 years there was a Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, that literally fed upon its own flock. They murdered, tortured and starved their own members, all to get gain and power.

That description of the Great and Abominable Church does not fit the Catholic Church of our day.

This whole book has been about the physical persecution of the Saints of God. What a tragic story! When Professor Hester ponders about their history, his soul is harrowed up, it is twisted, he grieves. Professor Hester’s soul cannot find peace. He wants to cry out for vengeance and retribution. However, that will come in God’s own time, when we are individually standing at the bar of justice to be judged for our own sins.

The blood of millions of people is beyond the author’s ability to comprehend. These people were cut off, innocent, and they experienced death fashioned by the imagination of the executioner’s mind. Cruel, un-deserved, whole families were tortured, starved, and put to death in the most horrible ignominious manner, dismembered, crucified hung, drowned, disemboweled, literally drawn and quartered, died on the rack and suffered death from many other killing devices.

How can one human being be so cruel to another one? That behavior is outside of Professor Hester scope of experience, but the Inquisition did happen. And those people in the Great and Abominable Church who were responsible for the Inquisition will be held accountable for those acts of terror.

There is no excusing the Catholic Church’s prior history and God will not; the hierarchy of the current Catholic Church is saddled with it, they cannot out-run it, and they cannot rewrite their own history. That history will never change, it is here to stay. Someone will eventually be held accountable by God for the physical persecution of the Saints of God. Those who are accountable are certainly already dead. Every man or women will have their time for judgment. Individually, God will hold those accountable according to God’s own judgment; that is good enough for me.

The Catholic Church of today cannot be held accountable for the sins of other men from prior generations. The accountability and the guilt for those sins will fall individually upon the heads those men and women of yesterday’s Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, the people who were actually responsible for the Inquisition.

Nephi truly saw yesterday’s Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages in his vision. But when he saw the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, Nephi did not see the Catholic Church of today. The guilt of the Dark Ages does not stain the reputation of the Catholic Church of today. The Pope, the Cardinals, Priests, and Nuns of the Roman Catholic Church do much to bring Christianity to the world. They provide hospitals to physically heal the sick and grade schools, high schools and universities to educate the masses.

And most notably, the Roman Catholic Church stands for the sanctity of life, against abortion.

The Roman Catholic Church of today is not the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

Conclusions

In former times, God may have winked at our generation’s reluctance to identify yesterday’s Roman Catholic Church as the Great and Abominable Church; however, no longer. God expects our generation to learn from what we read, to stand with courage, to stand for our principles and to stand for truth.

Who will stand with God and who will stand against God? That is the question. God has given us the prophecies of Nephi because He wanted us to know the truth. God wanted us to know where He stands. We can exercise our free agency and stand with God. Or, we can reject the truth and we can declare that which is politically correct and thus, fabricate a lie.

Before this book, this topic had not been written about by prior LDS leaders and writers. Some believe the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages was the Great and Abominable Church, and some do not. As it turned out, both groups were right and both were wrong.

The condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages was never meant by God to be applied or shared with the Catholic Church of today. The Catholic Church of today bears no guilt for the sins of men of prior times.

According to the Plan of Salvation, men are judged according to their own sins; they cannot be punished for the sins of someone else. But we, the LDS members of the Church have long condemned the Catholic Church of today for the sins committed by the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. This should stop!

The actions of the LDS members in general have been reprehensible and we collectively need to repent, apologize, and make amends to our Catholic neighbors.

We are told that the Great and Abominable Church will be destroyed on the Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord. On that day, Christ will become the God over the whole earth. There will be one church, one gospel, one doctrine, one religion, one master and one God. The religions of the earth based upon the opinions and philosophies of men will “all” be destroyed; not just the Great and Abominable Church, but all the Churches of men that have been set up to get gain and to exercise power over the souls of men. All religions, all faiths, all philosophies of men will cease to exist. On that day, there will be one-fold, one shepherd, one church and one master, Jesus Christ. Evil will be swept away, off the face of the whole earth and only the righteous will remain.

In the recent words of Elder Thomas S. Monson, the current President, Prophet, and Seer of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

“It is impossible to stand upright when one plants his roots in the shifting sands of popular opinion and approval. Needed is the courage of a Daniel (Daniel 6), an Abinadi (Mosiah 11:20), a Moroni (Moroni 1-10), or a Joseph Smith in order for us to hold strong and fast to that which we know is right. They had the courage to do not that which was easy but that which was right.

We will all face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us, all of us, have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval.”

Researching Books or Articles Bruce R. McConkie (Pro)

Bruce R. McConkie in 1958

Quote 1, “It is also to the Book of Mormon to which we turn for the plainest description of the Roman Catholic Church as the great and abominable church. Nephi saw this 'church which is the most abominable above all other churches' in a vision. He 'saw the devil that he was the foundation of it,' and also the murders, wealth, harlotry, persecutions, and evil desires that historically have been a part of this satanic organization.” (1 Nephi 13:1-10)" - Mormon Doctrine, p. 130 First Edition (1958)

Quote 2, In the 2nd edition of Elder McConkie’s book, Mormon Doctrine “The titles ‘Church of the Devil’ and ‘Great and Abominable Church’ are also used to identify all churches or organizations of whatever name or nature—whether political, philosophical, social educational, economic, civic, fraternal, or religious-- which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God. Any church or organization of any kind whatever which satisfies the innate religious longings of man and keeps him from coming to the saving truths of Christ and his gospel is therefore not of God.” Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 137-138 Second Edition) D&C 29:21

Why did Elder McConkie do a one-eighty in his 2nd edition? In his 1st edition, he said:

“It is also to the Book of Mormon to which we turn for the plainest description of the Roman Catholic Church as the great and abominable church.”

There, he said it; Elder McConkie stated that the Roman Catholic Church is the Great and Abominable Church. In the 1st edition he said Nephi’s description was “…the plainest description of the Roman Catholic Church….”

Did Elder McConkie have a revelation between the 1st edition and the 2nd edition of Mormon Doctrine that caused him to change his mind? Why did he change his mind?

Do you know why Elder McConkie changed his mind?

If you want to know why, for yourself, you will have to do some research on the Internet and look back to when President David O. McKay was still alive. President McKay was and still is the author’s favorite modern-day prophet. That would be about the time frame to look and learn why Elder McConkie changed his mind; at least he changed his mind on paper.

The author tends to go with Elder McConkie’s 1st edition, when he stated that the Roman Catholic Church was the Great and Abominable Church of the Book of Mormon. Elder McConkie did not differentiate between the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages and Catholic Church of today; had he done so, his reputation would still be intact.

Stephen Robinson (Con)

Robinson supposedly wrote two different articles; however, these two articles for every practical purpose, were duplicates. To be able to distinguish any differences between the two articles, it would take a comparison analysis to detect any changes.

“Clearly, ‘great and abominable’ here refers to one specific church among many others that are not ‘great and abominable.’”

The topic of “one specific church” is the springboard to learning about the Great and Abominable Church. That springboard is what this book is all about.

According to Robinson, the major characteristics of the great and abominable church described in 1 Nephi are repeated from early in this book and listed here as follows:

It persecutes, tortures, and slays the Saints of God (13:5).It seeks wealth and luxury (13:7).It is characterized by sexual immorality (13:7).It has excised plain and precious things from the scriptures (13:26-29).It has dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people (14:11).Its fate is to be consumed by a world war (in the end-times), in which the nations it incited against the Saints turn to war among themselves until they destroy the great and abominable church itself (Robinson’s statement here, is not true) (22:13-14).

The author does not agree because God has said that The Great and Abominable Church will be destroyed with fire, by God Himself, on the first day of the end-times.)

The above characteristics adequately represent those of the Great and Abominable Church.

The Author Disagrees with Robinson

Robinson failed to acknowledge that any of those characteristics described the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, because his intentions were just the opposite. Instead of taking an objective and historical point of view, Robinson wanted to point the reader toward his own conclusion; the conclusion of political correctness. To do that, he had to bend the facts of history to fit his own mold to get the result that he already had in mind. He did a very poor job of warping history around his intended conclusion, which did nothing to identify which church was the Great and Abominable Church.

Professor Hester is adding several quotes directly from Robinson’s two articles and then going through each one in some detail. The author is using Robinson’s articles because he found no other articles or talks during his research that would make a better target. Robinson, did not speak for the LDS Church, his works are not authoritative. He is simply a BYU Professor who chose this topic to write about. In the author’s estimation, Robinson is the only writer worthy of quoting, but Professor Hester does not agree with most of Robinson’s conclusions.

Professor Hester found no conference talk, Improvement Era, or Ensign Article that was written by a member of first presidency or the apostles, on this topic. If the author had, he would not be using Robinson’s articles as a reference.

Robinson correctly theorized that, “When the civil governments (the kings of the earth) commit fornication with the false religion—that is, when church and state are joined together—then the wine of their fornication makes all the world drunk, and her sins and plagues reach unto heaven. (See Rev. 17:2; Rev. 18:3–5.) The immorality and idolatry of the great and abominable church, together with the power of the civil states, dominate the economy and the life-styles of all nations and destroy the spiritual equilibrium and discernment of human beings.”

No Rebuttal: The author agrees with this point!

Robinson also correctly tells us, “Moreover, the great and abominable church in chapter 13 has a specific historical description: it was formed among the Gentiles after the Jews transmitted the Bible in its purity to the Gentiles. (1 Ne. 13:26.) It is also the specific historical agent responsible for excising plain and precious truths from the scriptural record.”

No Rebuttal: The author agrees with this point! However, this is a perfect description of the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, which Robinson failed to mention.

Robinson claims that, “Well-intentioned churches would thus not qualify as the mother of abominations described in 1 Nephi 13. They do not slay the saints of God nor seek to control civil governments or pursue wealth, luxury, and sexual immorality.”

Rebuttal: While it is true that well intentioned churches would not slay the Saints of God, that did not apply to the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages which has a vivid and horrid history replete of torturing and killing the Saints of God, for over two thousand years. Other churches would not do this, but the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages did. The Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages certainly qualifies by this description, as the Great and Abominable Church.

Robinson discloses where he is taking the reader by this quote, “Some Latter-day Saints have erred in believing that some specific denomination, to the exclusion of all others, has since the beginning of time been the great and abominable church. This is dangerous, for many will then want to know which it is, and an antagonistic relationship with that denomination will inevitably follow.”

Rebuttal: The LDS people cited above did not error. The Great and Abominable Church did begin sometime after or during the Apostasy; it has continued for the last 2000 years and eventually adopted its own name, the Roman Catholic Church.Robinson feared that if we know which church is the Great and Abominable Church, that knowledge would create an antagonistic relationship between the LDS Church and the Catholic Church of today. This is irrelevant!

Robinson continues, “More often, some have suggested that the Roman Catholic Church might be the great and abominable church of Nephi 13. This is also untenable, primarily because Roman Catholicism as we know it did not yet exist when the crimes described by Nephi were being committed. In fact, the term Roman Catholic only makes sense after A.D. 1054 when it is used to distinguish the Western, Latin-speaking Orthodox church that followed the bishop of Rome from the Eastern, Greek-speaking Orthodox church that followed the bishop of Constantinople.”

Rebuttal: Robinson maintains that the crimes against the Saints of God were committed only during the first two hundred years of the church. That statement is false-false-false; the Roman Catholic Church’s own history convicts the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages of torturing and killing the Saints of God, for over two thousand years. In his effort to support political correctness, Robinson asserts that an argument that is so fundamentally flawed, false, and ignorant, that it is wonder that his article was ever published. Robinson’s logic on this is fatally flawed.

Maybe other churches would not do this, but the Roman Catholic Church did.

Rebuttal: Yes, the Great and Abominable Church is now, in our time, correctly identified as the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; it does not matter whether or when the church adopted the name “Roman Catholic Church;” before they adopted that name, it was still the same church.

Robinson says, “In the period between Peter and the Roman emperor Constantine, there were many Christian churches besides the Orthodox Church: Ebionites, Syrian and Egyptian churches, Donatists, Gnostics, Marcionites, and so on. Even if we use the term Roman Catholic for the church Constantine made the state religion in A.D. 313, the New Testament as we know it was already widely circulating. That is, the plain and precious parts had already been removed. The notion of shifty-eyed medieval monks rewriting the scriptures is unfair and bigoted. We owe those monks a debt of gratitude that anything was saved at all.”

Rebuttal: Exactly when or which monk or collection of monks went about the business of removing the “plain and precious” parts of the gospel is unknown; but we do know that God and his prophets all blame the Great and Abominable Church for removing those parts from the scriptures in the Bible. God and the prophets are right! Now which church is the Great and Abominable Church? That would be the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

Robinson says, “Yes during the first two or three hundred years after the apostasy the Christians were divided into different sects, some held more profound doctrine than others; however, the sect domiciled in Rome eventually annihilated most of the other sects and took control of the church in Rome. Eventually, it became known as the Roman Catholic Church.

It would be an error to blame some modern denomination for the activities of an ancient great and abominable church.”

Rebuttal: Everyone would do well to remember one thing; we, you and me, we are not blaming some modern denomination for the activities of an ancient church! We know that the Catholic Church of today is not the Great and Abominable Church and we also know the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages is the Great and Abominable Church.

Robinson states, “Such an agent would have had its origins in the second half of the first century and would have done much of its work by the middle of the second century.”

Rebuttal: It is ridiculous to limit the killing of the Saints of God to an era of the first one or two hundred years after the resurrection of Christ. Especially when the Roman Catholic Church would later be guilty of torturing and killing millions of the Saints of God.Rebuttal: It is ridiculous to state that all the Saints of God died during the first two hundred years.Rebuttal: Professor Hester believes that during the last 2000 years, that there has always been an abundance of the population in the Western World, containing the Saints of God; believers of His word; obedient to all His commandments; they were true Saints of God. To think otherwise, would show a lack of understanding of God’s children.

Robinson thinks, “This period might be called the blind spot in Christian history, for it is here that the fewest primary historical sources have been preserved. We have good sources for New Testament Christianity; then the lights go out, so to speak, and we hear the muffled sounds of a great struggle. When the lights come on again a hundred or so years later, we find that someone has rearranged all the furniture and Christianity has become something very different from what it was in the beginning.”

Rebuttal: Robinson calls the very earliest history, during the Apostasy, a “blind spot” in history. He claims it was a period of history that is without any reliable sources. But that does not stop Robinson from speculating and claiming that it was during this period of time that the Great and Abominable Church ran rampant and did all of its torturing and killing of the Saints of God; and then reformed or went out of existence. No, that did not happen! In fact, for the last 2000 years that church has been known as the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; it was involved in torturing and killing the Saints of God, for centuries.

Hans Verlan Anderson (Con)

Brother Anderson, a former leader in the LDS Church, wrote a book titled The Great and Abominable Church of the Devil, published in 1972. He wrote his whole book about the Great and Abominable Church, all 192 pages, without mentioning the Roman Catholic Church once. Brother Anderson was as close to being a church authority as could be found, who had actually written about, or given a talk in conference, about the Great and Abominable Church, but he certainly did not identify the Roman Catholic Church as being the Great and Abominable Church.

Richard G. Grant (Con)

Professor Hester noted that Grant’s article titled, The Great and Abominable Church was nothing more than a rehash of Stephen Robinson article in the Ensign title “Warring with the Saints of God,” published Jan 1988. Grant confirms Professor’s Hester’s supposition in Grants notes and references when Grant states:

“Early Christianity and 1Nephi 13-14, by Stephen Robinson, in the Book of Mormon First Nephi, the Doctrinal Foundation, page 188. Dr. Robinson is a professor of ancient scripture at BYU. This reference is the principle source for most of the material in this article.”

Since Robinson’s article in “Warring with the Saints of God”, in the Ensign is almost identical to Grant’s article, there is no need to look any deeper into Grant’s article. In fact, it is a wonder that Robinson did not accuse Grant of plagiarism. Grant offers no additional ideas and his article will be left where it is.

John Fox’s Book of the Martyrs

Fox’s Book of the Martyrs, was first published in Latin on March 20, 1563, at the height of the Roman Catholic Inquisition. It has been re-published many times since. Had John Fox been a Roman Catholic, we would have never had his book. Yes, Fox was a Protestant and he did write from the point of view of a Protestant. He lived during that time and what he saw or was aware of, he recorded. It did happen; it is a historical fact.

During Fox’s life time, France was first to be purged by the Inquisitors. Fox claimed about one hundred thousand Protestants were murdered by the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, in the first week of the purge. The Huguenots were almost extinct.

The Roman Catholic Church persecuted, tortured, killed and murdered several hundred thousand Protestant and Roman Catholic members in order to get gain. They killed men, women, and children; the rich and the poor. What drove the Inquisition was money and greed, the value of a man’s property. Those who were rich were targeted by the Inquisition; the Inquisitors, Roman Catholic Priests, would routinely make false accusations accusing a person of being a heretic, whether he or she was or not. They, along with all their family and friends and relatives would be arrested, found guilty without any evidence, then brutally tortured, murdered, and finally most would be burned. Their property would then be confiscated by the Inquisitors for the Roman Catholic Church.

When Germany was cleansing Europe in WWII of the Jews, we thought, this cannot be true. But it was true! Looking back at the Inquisition, a person is apt to say, this cannot be true; but it did not happen! And sadly, it is true too; it did happen. It is a historical fact that cannot be denied. The many atrocities of Roman Catholic Church cannot be buried; they cannot be swept under a rug. They cannot be denied.

Even if Fox had exaggerated or inflated the numbers by 100%, The Inquisition, operated by the Roman Catholic Church, was still responsible for the torture and murder of millions of souls, including the devastation caused in Central and South America by the Inquisition. This inhumanity to man was experienced by the whole Western World.

Every Western nation felt the horror of the Roman Catholic Inquisition to some degree except for the British Isles and some Scandinavia countries. In England, the population suffered every time the King or Queen of England was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. When the King and/or Queen were Roman Catholic, the Protestants were persecuted, tortured, and killed. It was not driven the Inquisitors but it had the same effect. In 1685, some of the Protestants were driven out of Scotland when they refused to sign King James II Oath of Allegiance, King James was the last Roman Catholic King in England.

History of the Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church has existed, as of this date, for a little over 2000 years. This book will not distinguish between the Eastern Roman Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. In order to put that length of time into prospective, here are some points of reference:

The Roman Catholic Inquisition commenced around 1184.The Gutenberg Bible was not printed until about 1450. In 1492, Columbus discovered America.It was 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 96 theses to the door of the Roman Catholic Church.The King James Version of the Bible was published in 1611.The Mayflower brought the pilgrims to America in 1620.

The Inquisition Started About 1184

During this period of time the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages commenced to persecute its own church members.

“While many people associate the Inquisition with Spain and Portugal, it was actually instituted by Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) in Rome. A later pope, Pope Gregory IX established the Inquisition, in 1233, to combat the heresy of the Abilgenses, a religious sect in France. By 1255, the Inquisition was in full gear throughout Central and Western Europe; although it was never instituted in England or Scandinavia.”

The Inquisition lasted well into the 18th century, almost 700 years. The Roman Catholic Church’s Inquisition used murder, torture, imprisonment, burning at the stake, disembowelment, strangulation, and many other contrived measures of torture, to prevent the spread of doctrines and teachings not sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. But mainly the Inquisition was there to enrich the coffers of the Roman Catholic Church; the Inquisition was driven by money and greed.

In France, in 1288, the Inquisition was extended to the Jews with mass killings, also burning Jews at the stake. In fact, many Jews refused to convert to Roman Catholic Church and for political reasons in 1481, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, with the permission of the Pope, established tribunals through-out Spain in an attempt to secure their own reign. (ibid)

Those being under the threat of the Inquisition included citizens of the known Western World and later the Americas. The new world also was subjected to the Inquisition from 1492 to the late 18th century, approximately 350 years. In the Americas, the Roman Catholic Church gave the indigenous population the choice, either convert to the Roman Catholic Church or to suffer death. The number that died is impossible to know, but hundreds of thousands died! There is still evidence of this massacre to be found under the large ossuaries and catacombs beneath some Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the Americas; you will find sacerdotal skulls of those who instead of converting to the Roman Catholic Church, suffered death by the Roman Catholic Church. One of the most famous of these can be seen and toured at the San Francisco Cathedral in Lima, Peru where there are countless skulls, stacked to the ceiling, numbers estimated between 25,000 and 70,000.The Roman Catholic Church claims that all of these deceased were members in good standing; however, the explanation is not credible and the carnage fits the crimes of the Inquisition rather than members in good standing.

The Purpose of this BookThis book presents a question that can and should be answered. Can we dispel the old ways, the old ideas, and replace it with a fresh new look; let’s see if that is possible, remember these are important prophecies delivered by the Angel of God to the Prophet Nephi about the Great and Abominable Church. You may ask any of these questions:

“What church was Nephi referring to when the Angel talked with him about the Great and Abominable Church. Was the Angel referring the Catholic Church, some other church, or all other churches. Was the Angel referring to the Catholic Church? Do we really know which church the Angel was referring too?

The Angel gave this scripture or prophecy word for word directly to Nephi. It did not come to Nephi in a dream, Nephi’s conversation with the Angel was just like a conversation with a man, a mortal. It seems unlikely that Nephi did not know which church the Angel was referring to.

Did the Angel make it plain enough for our generation to understand?Did Nephi tell us which church was the Great and Abominable Church?Did Nephi or the Angel of God intentionally try to confuse us? Or, did he not tell us?

There is a lot of detail in what the Angel said, but the Angel did not mention the name, the title of the Great and Abominable Church. The description of the Great and Abominable Church given by the Angel of God provided us with enough detail to determine which church was being described by examining the evidence. But, before we get into that, suffice it to say, that from the time of Christ to Martin Luther in 1483, there was only one church to choose from, the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. That should make the rest of this book unnecessary, but the fact that there was only one church in existence in the Western World is real hard physical evidence, but it is not the only evidence.

Group One

It could be said that half of the LDS members believes Nephi’s narrative just as Nephi wrote it down; we will say one half because there are so many people who have read Nephi’s prophecies once and that is enough for them, they already earnestly believe that Nephi was referring to the Catholic Church when he wrote about the Great and Abominable Church. It is that simple. However, simple is in the brain of the beholder. The opinion of Group One is not unanimous by any count.

Group Two

The other half of the LDS members do not believe the Catholic Church is the Great and Abominable Church, to be sure, they hope it is not, because they would go to almost any length to avoid offending any church. You have to admit, that is an ultra-Christian way of thinking. The author likes that!

Bruce R. McConkie

The question to be resolved in this book, is whether or not the Catholic Church is, or is not, the Great and Abominable Church mentioned in the Book of Mormon by the Angel of God. This question, it is very controversial also, it is clouded by political correctness with a thousand other opinions. Some LDS Church Leaders seem to be leaning towards the beliefs of the 2nd group. Very few, indeed only one LDS Church Leader, Bruce R. McConkie, has openly supported the 1st group of members. For whatever reason, and we all know the reason, this subject has been taboo for far too long. This question does not need to be left unanswered. There is a very clear and practical resolution that will allow this question to be answered and then forgotten. Let’s see what that resolution is!

First of all, you are reading

Is the most comprehensive book ever written on this topic;It is the most logical book ever written on this topic, and It is fact based.The author does not take sides.

This book is being undertaken to resolve the dichotomy of “which church” really is the Great and Abominable Church and how can we be sure that it really is; that is, if one church does fit the bill. When Nephi gave us this prophecy, was he literally describing one singular church? Or, is Nephi’s prophecy so convoluted that it is like some of the writings of Isaiah, unfathomable and highly subject to personal interpretation?

Nephi Delights in Plainness

The author is a simple man and when the author reads Nephi’s writings, he reads them the way Nephi expected his writings to be read. None of Nephi writings or prophecies requires special interpretation; just read it. It means whatever the words say. In 2 Nephi 25:4 the Prophet Nephi tells us, “My soul delighteth in plainness.” Nephi truly meant what he said; he did delight in plainness and when writing about the Great and Abominable Church, Nephi wrote with much plainness. Even though Nephi’s writing about the Great and Abominable Church should be understood by almost everyone who reads it; evidently, some people still have troubles understanding the Angel and Nephi’s writings. That is just the way it is, for this generation. It was very rare when all eight of my children understood an issue with the first rendition. To this day, their beliefs are very different. Now if there could be that much difference between siblings, then maybe you can sense that there are a vast amount of differences within the population of the LDS Church of today. That is okay, we are human and we are not made with a cookie cutter. This book will help map it out, tie it is bow, and presented in a manner that it can be understood by all authentic seekers of truth. It will help make the question of understandable in the minds of this generation without unnecessary controversy. The arguments, for and against, will fade away, until there is nothing left of question, but the truth.

Revisions of History

Right now, the LDS Church has a few people who have, in the absence of the truth, been generating their own interpretations of Nephi’s prophecy. For the most part, their positions are not logical and their positions require Nephi’s visitation from an Angel of God to be re-written. They want to explain away the meat of the visitation and represent the visit with one or two verses. The problem is, we have the entire visitation that cannot be ignored. It seems that they want to exchange Nephi’s plainness for an interpretation of political correctness. They want to re-interpret Nephi’s writing and make Nephi’s prophecy fit their own interpretation. Their goal seems to be to protect the LDS Church from what they perceive as an embarrassing prophecy. To do that, these people are forced to re-write the history of the world to fit their interpretation. This re-interpretation is not necessary and we do not need to re-write history. Nephi’s visit with the Angel of God is one of the most profound prophecies ever recorded.

This dangling interpretation and revision of history; has been rehashed and rehashed, over and over again, by different people; as though rehashing it one more time will make it any more believable.

Their interpretations are not based on the facts of history. In their minds, real history has no place for their interpretations. Their interpretations are not logical and they have very few believers. To believe their interpretation requires a person to leap-frog over the real history of the world and then, without question or without debate, to replace “real” history with “fake” history; a fake history that fits with their narrative, their interpretation.

We really don’t need that. What we need is the truth! We do not want someone else’s interpretation about what he or she thought Nephi meant.

Let’s take away all the unsubstantiated rhetoric, the polite political correctness, the re-writing of history and the reluctance to call a spade a spade, and you might, just maybe, have an answer that is the “real” truth. We want to know the truth about the prophecies of Nephi; nothing less than the truth; in the end, the truth always prevails. The goal is to put both groups of LDS Members into the same bowl, eliminate the controversy, and move forward together. That is the goal of this book. The end results will come as a pleasant surprise to most people.

The Catholic Church of Our Day

The Catholic Church of the 21st Century is not the church that is described in this book. For almost 1900 years there was a Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages that literally fed upon its own flock. They murdered, tortured and starved their own members, all to get gain and power. Thankfully, that is not the Catholic Church of our day

The Plan of Salvation

The Catholic Church of today cannot be held accountable for the sins of other men of prior generations. The accountability and the guilt for those sins will fall squarely and individually upon the heads of those specific men and women of yesterday’s Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, who were responsible for the Inquisition.

To irritate, the Catholic Church of today is not the Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

.

Before this book was written, this topic had not been written about very much, because prior LDS leaders and writers tried successful to avoid the controversy surrounding this topic. Maybe they were trying to describe the Catholic Church of today as the Great and Abominable Church. Some people tend to believe the Catholic Church of today and Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages are one and the same church and they want to claim that it is the Great and Abominable Church. Some people tend to believe that the Catholic Church of today deserves different treatment from that received by the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. Some believe the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages was the Great and Abominable Church, and some do not. This is a real mess, but hopefully, before you read the last page of this book, your mind will be settled and you will have found the truth of this matter.

Being Fair to the Catholic Church

There is an important lesson to be learned from reading the vision of Nephi and by researching this topic with an open mind. Maybe we should not be so quick to condemn either the Catholic Church of today or the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, without a solid review of the facts, real hard evidence.

The condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages was never meant by God to be applied to the Catholic Church of today. The Catholic Church of today bears no guilt for the sins of church leaders or members of prior times. That is, unless you want to re-write the Plan of Salvation.

According to the Plan of Salvation, men are judged according to their “own” sins; they cannot be punished for the sins of someone else. To do so would pervert the Plan of Salvation, as we know it. That means that the leaders within the Catholic Church of today cannot be punished for the Inquisition perpetrated by the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. Regardless of that fact, the LDS members of the LDS Church have long and wrongfully condemned the Catholic Church of today for the sins committed by the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages and folks, that should not have happened, but it did. We can and should be treating our Catholic neighbors much better than we have.

Our actions, as members of the LDS Church, has been reprehensible and we collectively need to repent, apologize, and make amends with our Catholic neighbors.

In writing about the Great and Abominable Church, the author was moved upon by the spirit, by the Holy Ghost, and his prospective, his point of view changed, it took a complete one-eighty-degree turn; Professor Hester grew in understanding and wisdom, while learning that God judges as God, not as men, and His judgments are righteous.

Discussing the Main Question

Let’s have a logical discussion about whether the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, is or is not, the Great and Abominable Church that is spoken about in the Book of Mormon.

This author will attempt to cover both positions:

Those who believe that the Great and Abominable Church in the Book of Mormon is the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; and,Those who do not believe that it is the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

People should to draw their own conclusion,

People should draw their own conclusion, based upon real logic and the facts. People should draw their own conclusion based upon real history, without their intellect being clouded by another person’s opinion and interpretation or revision of history.

If you cannot approach this question with an open mind, it is recommended that you set this book down right now, and read no further. If you are a person who can think for his or herself, think logically, read the facts, and then come up with a definite conclusion, then maybe reading this book will help in your search for truth.

Contention is an Art Form

We all know baloney when we see it and you probably do too. This paragraph heading is pretty ketchy, but it is far-fetched; in fact, Professor Hester does not believe that “Contention” is an “Art Form” and most probably, you do not believe it either. People will try to feed you baloney all day long; it all depends upon how much baloney you are willing to eat. You need to decide, is this where I will draw the line, no more baloney for me; decide, do you really want the truth or do you want fiction? You deserve the truth! But, can you handle the truth? You are a son or daughter of God and you are entitled to have the truth and you do not need to settle for anything less.

Contention is not an art form. This book will make every effort to avoid contention, and baloney.

Characteristics of the Great and Abominable Church

There is some agreement between the pros and the cons on the basic characteristics of the Great and Abominable Church as stated by Nephi. The following list is a composite of some of those pros and cons:

According to Stephen Robinson who wrote about the Great and Abominable Church, stated, “Nephi gives us the following major characteristics of the Great and Abominable Church. The author has tweaked Mr. Robinson’s list and added his own comments:

It persecutes, tortures, and slays the Saints of God (13:5).It seeks wealth and luxury (13:7).It is characterized by sexual immorality (13:7).It has excised plain and precious things from the scriptures (13:26-29).It has dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people (14:11).Its fate is to be consumed by a world war (in the end-times), in which the nations it incited against the Saints turn to war among themselves until they destroy the great and abominable church itself (Grant’s statement here is not true) (22:13-14). (The Great and Abominable Church will be destroyed by God on the first day of the end-times, with fire, not by a war)

A Discussion Requires Two Parties

Let’s divide the participants of this discussion of whether the Roman Catholic Church is or is not the Great and Abominable Church, into two groups. We will endeavor to put those who represents the “Pro” on one side and those and who represents the “Con” on the other side. There seems to be no one representing the centralist point of view. People either believe the Roman Catholic Church is the Church identified by the Prophet Nephi, as the Great and Abominable Church, or they do not.

Pros and Cons

Pro

Con

Apostle Bruce R. McConkie

Dr. Stephen Robinson

Professor Donald N. Hester

Robert G. Grant

Hans Verlan Anderson

We have two people on the pro side. To be honest, McConkie stated that the Catholic Church of today was the Great and Abominable Church, as well as the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; however, McConkie was only half right. He was right about the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages being the Great and Abominable Church. But, he wrong about the Catholic Church of our day. Although Professor Hester is listed as a “Pro,” he is writing this book from the position of neutrality, attempting to give both sides fair and equal coverage

The “Con” people were the only people with any record of writing about the Great and Abominable Church. The position of this group of people describes the Great and Abominable Church as the Church of the Devil, or all churches, but they flatly refuse to name any one specific church, as the Great and Abominable Church.

Researching Conference Talks and Articles

Professor Hester is a retired professor of twenty-two years, familiar with doing research projects. The author began his research on the topic “The Great and Abominable Church on the LDS.org web site.

When he first started his research on this topic, he thought that all he had to do was to find an article or a talk from one or two of the early leaders of the Church that espoused the notion that the Roman Catholic Church was indeed the Great and Abominable Church, so Professor Hester began his search.

The author reasoned, this should be easy, since the early LDS leaders could speak out against the Roman Catholic Church whenever they wanted to, with impunity. Back in the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, the general population, as a whole, routinely participated in Roman Catholic bashing without incurring any social repercussions.

The protestant population from about 1830 to 1960 was very prejudice against the Catholic Church. Of course, in our world of today, it just wouldn’t do to have any ill will against the Catholic Church or any church; that is, except for the LDS Church; and it must be okay to be prejudiced against the LDS Church. Many in the protestant population still say the LDS Church is non-Christian and they still, to this day, express their disdain and prejudice against the LDS Church. It was truly a social revolution in 1961 when John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, was elected president of the U.S.A.

Against this back-drop, it didn’t seem like it would take very long to find a long list of church leaders from 1830 to 1960, who believed that the Roman Catholic Church was the Great and Abominable Church; for reasons explained below, it did not turn out that easy.

Researching Official Church Publications

Professor Hester searched all the available Ensign and the Liahona magazines that were issued starting back in 1971 through 2015 for the Ensign; 1977 through 2015 for the Liahona; and the Times and Seasons Vol 1-1, 1839 to Vol VI-23, 1846.

Before the Ensign started in 1971, the Improvement Era was the church’s official publication; it may have had an article, but the author could not find one, except for Stephen Robinson’s, two-page article in1988.

Researching LDS Conference Reports

Professor Hester then searched a book titled LDS Conference Reports, published in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1975 by Hawkes Publishing; the author is Mr. John D. Hawkes. It is a book that purports to contain an index of all conference topics and a second index that purports to contain all the conference speakers for that time period, plus all of the conference talks. This book was for sale in a used book store, along with the actual copies of all the conference talks. The book claims to contain all the conference talks from the year 1880 and then from the year of 1897 through to 1973; however, the author found no talk in either of the indexes that even mentioned the Great and Abominable Church.

Researching The History of the Church

The author also did a search in The History of the Church, a compilation of over 3,000 pages that were written under the direction of Joseph Smith the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This search found D&C 29:21, but that was all.

Researching Church Records Proved Futile

Much to author’s own dismay, if these documents ever existed, all publications related to the Great and Abominable Church, as being the Roman Catholic Church, were no longer available on the LDS.org web site. And, the author could not find a single source of church leaders anywhere that had identified the Roman Catholic Church as the Great and Abominable Church.

It seems almost impossible, but there it is; nothing!

Professor Hester still wanted to identify which church really is the Great and Abominable Church and the author persisted, “It shouldn’t be that hard.” To the author, it sounded like a topic that would have been addressed by at least ten or twenty leaders, maybe even thirty, since 1897. The truth is, there is not a single conference talk from 1897 to the current date that considers the topic of the Great and Abominable Church. There is not a single article in The Improvement Era, the Ensign, the Liahona, or the Times and Seasons addressing this topic. If any article or conference talk ever existed from about 1897 to the present time, that was related to the Great and Abominable Church, they are all gone now. Maybe the LDS history has been sanitized and revised to fit the political narrative that is popular in our day, that is a question you are going to have to answer by yourself. Professor Hester did not find even one conference talk or article in the Improvement Era, the Ensign, the Liahona, or the Times and Seasons. Where are the last few generations of Church leaders on this topic; they are silent, with one exception. Bruce R. McConkie, an Apostle of the LDS Church, he was that one exception. He wrote about the Great and Abominable Church in his first edition of Mormon Doctrine published in 1958, which will be discussed later.

Researching Non-Church Records

On Wikipedia under the topic of the Great and Abominable Church, Professor Hester found the following quotation:

“Although many Latter-day Saints have associated the great and abominable church with the Roman Catholic Church, official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) have discouraged this interpretation.”

The above Wikipedia quote claims that the “…LDS Church has discouraged this interpretation.” If what Wikipedia says is true, wouldn’t an average person like you or the author be able to find these so called “official publications,” somewhere. For example, doesn’t logic dictate that if such a reference existed it could be located somewhere, either in Conference Talk or in an article somewhere in a church publication? And, who among all of the leaders of the Church has made this discussion their own; under whose signature would it be found? If the Roman Catholic Church is not the Great and Abominable Church, then who among all of the leaders of the LDS Church has stepped forward in an official capacity in a church publications and declared to the entire world that the Roman Catholic Church is not the Great and Abominable Church. Who? None have stepped forward to own that statement. There is no conference talk that addresses it. There is no article in any official Church publication that addresses that topic. No church leader has ever spoken in any the General Conferences of the Church and said whether the Roman Catholic Church is, or is not, the Great and Abominable Church. No church leader has ever written an article in any Church publication that stated the Roman Catholic Church is or is not the Great and Abominable Church. At least none that Professor Hester could find and he is very good at finding original sources.

The statement in Wikipedia is a fabrication, it claims:

“…official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) have discouraged this interpretation.”

No such official publication has ever existed, anywhere, during any period of time.

No Church leader has ever given a conference talk titled “The Great and Abominable Church.” No Church leader has ever written an article titled “The Great and Abominable Church.” There are no official declarations that have ever been made by the Church, endorsed and signed by the First Presidency or the Quorum of the twelve apostles, stating that the Roman Catholic Church is or is not the Great and Abominable Church.

Sorry Wikipedia, that quote is simply not true!

Making a one-sided statement such as this without providing a reference, renders the statement unsubstantiated. It could be either true or it could be false; who knows? Whoever wrote this entry in Wikipedia is definitely taking a position that is not neutral. Their position is against the notion that the Roman Catholic Church is the Great and Abominable Church. Wikipedia chose sides. Since the author of this entry in Wikipedia is unknown, then we unable give the entry any validity or credence.

Maybe a more dedicated and tenacious researcher than the author might be able to find something somewhere written by the leaders of the LDS Church; but it is doubtful. Professor Hester invites those who are interested in researching this topic, to give it a try.

At this point the author will stop and review the scriptures in the Book of Mormon that refer to the Great and Abominable Church. The Angel of God that spoke with Nephi also spoke about other things. Although some of these “other” things may be interesting they are not within the scope of this discussion and they will be omitted in this book. The scriptures that I will review contains the words of an angel, one who spoke with Nephi about the Great and Abominable Church. It was a conversation between Nephi and an Angel of God. From the narrative, we can tell who is speaking, either it is Nephi or the Angel of God. The prophecy is included in parts of I Nephi chapters 13 and 14 and 2 Nephi chapter 6:28. We also will cover D&C 29:21, and Revelations 19:2.

The Prophet Nephi recorded 1 Nephi chapters 13 and 14. In 2 Nephi chapters 6 and 18, the prophets Jacob and Nephi, were teaching the people what Nephi had learned from his experience with the Angel of God.D&C 29:21 came by way of revelation through the prophet Joseph Smith.Revelations 19:2 was given to us by the last living Apostle John, from the Isle of Patmos.

The author will consider the scriptures line upon line. Professor Hester will give each line, each word, adequate coverage. Everything changes by whatever interpretation is used when identifying which church is the Great and Abominable Church. This is important! We need to get it right. It is so important that God gave the same or similar prophecies to four different prophets.

Surely, God has not intended that we should be ignorant regarding these four prophecies. Surely, God did not leave us without a clue.Surely, God expects us to read these prophecies and then come to our own conclusion. Surely, if the Great and Abominable Church is not the Roman Catholic Church, wouldn’t God tell us?

That is, if the clues that were given were inadequate and we could not make that determination on our own.

Yet, there has been no additional modern-day revelation to clarify whether the Roman Catholic Church is or is not the whore of the whole earth.

What that means is that God has already given us enough clues, enough for us to know that the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages is indeed the Great and Abominable Church.

The Angel of God “Spoke” - Nephi “Saw” and “Beheld”

Every verse in Chapter 13 and 14 are written to record what the Angel of God “said,” or what Nephi “saw” or “beheld.” In Chapter 14 the Angel of God does not speak to Nephi until verse 5. Verses 1-4 appear to be the words of Nephi, not the Angel. Is that important? Yes, it is! When a person takes a closer look at the verses covering this topic, something very important becomes very apparent. Let’s take that look right now and see what we can see.

The words of the Prophet Nephi in chapter 14, do not mention the angel “speaking” to him or that he “saw” or “beheld” anything. Chapter 14: 1-4 then, are Nephi’s own words. This is important and will be referred to later.

Part One: Analysis of 1 Nephi 13:1-9

The express intention of Part One is to convince the reader that the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages is indeed the Great and Abominable Church, the whore of the whole earth, the worst of all other churches.

1 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms.

2 And the angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold many nations and kingdoms.

This is the beginning a conversation between Nephi and an Angel of God.

3 And he said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles.

Professor Hester concludes that these nations and kingdoms include what we now call the Western World of Europe.

4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.

Nothing in this verse tells us exactly when this great church (Roman Catholic Church) was formed. It would be safe to say that it was formed during or shortly after the apostasy, but before the death of the Emperor Constantine, A.D. 337. During those 337 years a multitude of Christian sects were in conflict, competing against each other; the sect in Rome finally subdued or eliminated most of the sects and gained rule over the church. That church would become known as the Roman Catholic Church. A Christian church that would spread over the whole world, that eventually, would rule over almost all of Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses of the Western World; it ruled well into the seventeenth and eighteenth century.

5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.

The Angel of God said that this church is the most abominable church of all churches.

It is important to note that from the apostasy to Constantine, there were many competing sects of Christians for that three-hundred-year period. For many, the differences were geographical, not doctrinal.After the Roman Christian sect had killed off the other competing Christian sects, the Roman Catholic Church was the only remaining formal church in the Western World (excepting the Eastern Orthodox Church), up until around A.D. 1500, when it was challenged by the multitude of Protestant churches.The different Christians sects before A.D. 1500, the members of the Roman Catholic Church or the Dark Ages were the people who the Angel of God referred to as, “…the Saints of God.” Definitely, the earlier Protestants also were the “Saints of God.”Professor Hester also believes the Saints of God spoken of by the angel were the righteous people from the day of Christ’s time to our current time. That would include all righteous members of the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants churches from the beginning up to the current time, as being, “… the Saints of God.” Also, to include the righteous people who lived in the various Christian sects for the first three-hundred years of Christianity, later followed, after A.D 1500, by the early Protestants.Relative to our time, in our own day, the Saints of God, using the same interpretation, must be interpreted to be the righteous people of all Christianity, including the Catholic Church and the Protestants churches of our time and of course the righteous of the LDS church as well.In the early period, regarding formal churches other than the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman Christian sect killed off all the competing sects and from around A.D. 350 to around A.D. 1500, during this period of time the Roman Catholic Church was the only formal Christian church in the Western World.

Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church, as the Angel told Nephi,

“Slayeth the saints of God,…Indeed the Roman Catholic Church did kill them.”Tortureth” the righteous members of their own church. The Roman Catholic Church “bindeth them down” their own members,They “yoketh” their own members “yoketh them with a yoke of iron” and“Bringeth their own members down into captivity.”

It would be illogical to reject the notion or the idea that the Roman Catholic Church was not the Great and Abominable Church. There is no other church that fits the description and the Roman Catholic Church fits the description perfectly.If not the Roman Catholic Church, then the Angel of God lied to Nephi. And the Angel of God did not lie, he gave Nephi a perfect description of the Great and Abominable church, it described the Roman Catholic Church perfectly. It had to be the Roman Catholic Church because no other formal church existed in the Western World from the Apostasy to about A.D. 1500.To what length will people go to be politically correct? Will they lie in the face of truth? Will they conjure up another church, a myth? To what length will they go to deny the truth? The liberals of our day think nothing of lying; it is a means to an end. To some, lying is a way of life. Professor Hester hates a liar and God does as well.

6 And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.

Nephi identified the Roman Catholic Church as the Great and Abominable Church.Nephi understood that the devil was the founder.Although the Catholic Church of our day is very benign outwardly; across the ages, the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages has been the most powerful political entity on the earth. Nations literally bowed to the Pope of Rome.We are not talking about the doctrinal differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the LDS Church. We are talking about the behavior of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and their treatment toward the Saints of God, all who were, up to A.D 1500, were members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Professor Hester personally disagrees with much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church of our day, but he do agree 100% with the position the Catholic Church takes on abortion and the sanctity of life.

7 And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.

8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.

Without the least hesitation, both verses 7 and 8, portrays the excessive greed for money and property that fed the Inquisition and enriched the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

9 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages did whatever it wanted to do without any accountability. They allowed their greed and pride to govern their actions and that resulted in the destruction of the Saints of God and bringing their own members into captivity.

Part Two: Analysis of 1 Nephi 13:10-42

The intent of Part Two is to see if the reader is already convinced of the content of verses 10-42 of chapter 13.

10 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.

Are you convinced that the many waters, as Nephi wrote, represented an ocean between the Gentiles and the seed of his brethren?Are you convinced that the Gentiles, as Nephi wrote, were the population of the Western World, Europe?

11 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that God’s wrath was upon the Indians of South, Central, and North America?The Gentiles killed and drove the Indian tribes from one place to another.

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that the man wrought upon by the spirit of God was Christopher Columbus?

13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that it was the Spaniards, pilgrims, and others who the Spirit of God wrought upon and brought across the Ocean?These early immigrants included Professor Hester’s ancestors from Scotland.

14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that the early Spaniards and American Patriots, were referred to as other Gentiles and they did in fact scatter and smite the seed of Nephi’s brethren?

15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that America was and is a prosperous nation and the Caucasians who settled America were indeed white, fair, and beautiful?

16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.

Are you convinces, as Nephi wrote, that the early Americans were a humble people?

17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that Great Britain fought against the colonies during the Revolutionary War?

18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that the colonies were able to defeat Great Britain, the greatest nation of that time, because the wrath of God prevailed against Great Britain?

19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that the colonies were victorious because God was on their side?

20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that the early Americans brought their Bibles with them when they came to the new world?

21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?

Are you aware that Nephi had never seen the Bible before and did not know what a Bible was?

22 And I said unto him: I know not.

23 And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

24 And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.

25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that Nephi was elated to learn, that we Gentles, had the word of God in the form of a book called the Bible. That the Bible had many of prophecies that Nephi already knew about.

26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that Nephi did groan and mourn for us because the Great and Abominable Church had already taken out many of the plain and precious parts of the Gospel of Christ?

27 And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that Nephi was astonished to learn that the Great and Abominable Church desired to blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the world over?

28 Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that as the Bible went through the Roman Catholic Church, the Great and Abominable Church, that the Roman Catholic Church removed many of the plain and precious things from the Bible? The scriptures did not go through any other church except for the Roman Catholic Church; therefore, the Roman Catholic Church is the only church that fits this part of the description of the Great and Abominable Church. They are one and the same; the Great and Abominable Church and the Roman Catholic Church are one in the same.It was the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages that took out the plain and precious parts of Gospel of Jesus Christ. No other church had the opportunity. No other church fits this part of the description.

29 And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, after the Roman Catholic Church removed some of the plain and precious parts from our Bible, that it caused us to stumble and gave Satan great power over us?

30 Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren.

31 Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren.

32 Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that God would not allow the Gentiles to destroy Nephi and his brethren’s seed?

33 Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the house of Israel in great judgment.

34 And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that God would restore the Gospel of the Lamb to the Gentiles, in spite of everything the Great and Abominable Church could do to hinder the restoration of the gospel?

35 For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that we the Gentiles would receive the Book of Mormon, a record of the Nephites by the gift and power of God?

36 And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation.

37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.

38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.

39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that our generation would be blessed to have the true gospel of Jesus Christ?

40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.

41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that we would be blessed in our day to have both the Bible and the Book of Mormon so there could only be one God, one Shepherd for the whole world?

42 And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.

Finally, are you looking forward to the day of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he will reveal himself to the Jews and to the Gentiles?

Part Three: Analysis: 1 Nephi 14: 1-23

The Saints of God in all nations would be persecuted by the great and abominable church, as written in Nephi’s own words, about 600–592 B.C. Verses 1-4 are Nephi’s commentary on the Angel’s words and what he saw and heard. Later, his brother Jacob in 2 Nephi Chapter 6 and then Nephi in chapter 28, both would teach the Nephites all that Nephi had saw and heard during his visitation by the Angel of God.

1 And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—

2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.

3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.

4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that in his own words, Nephi promises that Christ will reveal himself to the Gentiles in word and in power?

If the Gentiles will not harden their hearts.They will be numbered as Abraham’s seed.They will be a blessed people.They will never be brought into captivity.They shall never be confounded.The Great and Abominable Church shall be no more.

The great pit digged by the whore of the earth will be filled by those who digged the pit.

5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.

6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that if the Gentiles harden their hearts.If they don’t repent, the Gentiles will perish.

7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that we can choose peace and life eternal or we can choose captivity and destruction?

8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.

9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.

10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

To those who reject idea of identifying the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages as being the Great and Abominable Church, the tenth verse is for those people; it is their one and only basis for their claim that the Roman Catholic Church is not the Great and Abominable Church. In fact, it is the only verse in 1 Nephi 13 and 14 that supports their claim. They hang their whole claim on this one single verse. They are ignoring the other 65 verses of Nephi’s visitation with the Angel of God. They are ignoring other scriptures in the Book of Mormon, the D&C, and the Book of Revelations that provides us with a very, very explicit and convincing description of the Great and Abominable Church as being the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. And, they want to substitute verse 10 above as a plausible interpretation or definition of what the Great and Abominable Church is or should be. But they state, for certain, that it is not the Roman Catholic Church. They wish to be politically correct more than they wish to acknowledge the truth.However, you cannot have your cake and eat it at the same time. You must choose either one or the other. If you choose to endorse the opinion that the Great and Abominable Church is “not” the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; then, it is not the Roman Catholic Church in any of Nephi’s other 64 verses either, and you will have to discard all 64 verses and everything in those verses.If you choose to endorse the interpretation of Nephi, that the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages is the Great and Abominable Church in one and all 65 verses then you can retain all those verses. You have already stated, at least in your own mind, that as you have read verse after verse, up to this point, that you were convinced of the truth of every verse. If you are not lying about being convinced, then that means the Great and Abominable Church is the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. Why? Read on and be prepared to be amazed.

11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that from Constantine to the fifteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church’s ruled over nations, over Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses.In the fifteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church expanded its dominion over the whole earth, it was the only world-wide church, the only church in many nations, and the Kings, Queens, Princes, and Princesses of the Western World served the Pope of Rome? The only church that fits this part of the description is the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. Therefore, the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages must be the Great and Abominable Church. If not, you have to discard this verse too.

12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.

14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.

16 And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things—

17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.

Are you convinced, that verses 13-17 contain an end-time scenario depicting a battle between good and evil, between the Church of the Lamb and the Great and Abominable Church, which is the Roman Catholic Church? This was the end of Nephi’s visitation with the Angel of God.We are currently living in a period of time that precedes this upcoming end-time scenario. If it was already upon us, we would have no problem in identifying which church is the whore of the earth, the Great and Abominable Church. By combining the words of the prophets with the historical facts, it could only be the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. The Roman Catholic Church has a history that is replete of torturing and murdering the Saints of God. There is no other church with such a history. It also is the largest church in the world; it covers the whole face of the earth. There is no other church that even comes close to the size of the Roman Catholic Church. The prophet’s description of the Great and Abominable Church blended with tons and tons of irrefutable historical facts; historical facts that leaves no doubt in the hearts and minds of honest men that the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages is the Great and Abominable Church.

29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me.

30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And thus it is. Amen.

Nephi wrote with much plainness and he left us with a sufficient description of the Great and Abominable Church, that when combined with the historical facts, it is enough to convince all honest men that the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, was the Great and Abominable Church.

Part Four: Analysis of I Nephi 22:13-14

13. And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.

14. And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall all go into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.

These two verses written by Nephi are his own words, rooted in the visitation of the Angel of God. They are another elaboration of the end-time scenario related in 1 Nephi 14: 13-17. Since it has not happened yet, we need to rely of historical facts to help identify the Roman Catholic Church as the Great and Abominable Church.

Part Five: Analysis of 2 Nephi 6:12

This verse in 2 Nephi, it was given to us by the Prophet Jacob, the younger brother of the Prophet Nephi.

12. And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfill his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things.

Are you convinced, as Jacob wrote, this is a warning the Gentiles, one of the most important scriptures in the Book of Mormon, related to the Great and Abominable Church. Jacob warns the Gentiles; meaning us, the Gentiles in our day, to not unite ourselves to the Great and Abominable Church. If we do not, we will be saved; otherwise, we must perish in the flesh. This is another elaboration on the end-time scenario in 1 Nephi 14: 13-17.

Part Six: Analysis of 2 Nephi 28:17-20

We are now back to the writings of the Prophet Nephi.

17 But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.

18 But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.

19 For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good

Are you convinced, as Nephi wrote, that Nephi is not talking about an end-time scenario? This time, it sounds like he is talking about our generation, or maybe this is the beginning of the end-time scenario? In our time, the hearts of men are truly raging and our generation is angry with that which is good. In our generation, good is bad and bad is good. The people, in our time, choose that which is bad over that which is good. Except for the Saints of God, those who are righteous. As you read these scriptures, why do you suppose Nephi continues to emphasize over and over the existence of the Great and Abominable Church, the whore of the whole earth? Is it important that we know the identity of the Great and Abominable Church? Did Nephi think it was important? Yes, he did!

Part Seven: Analysis of D&C 29: 21

21 And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.

This verse, given as a part of “the” end-time, it came as a revelation from God through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The author guesses, if you are still not convinced, you can wait until the final end-time to discover whether or not the Roman Catholic Church is the Great and Abominable Church; but for Professor Hester, he already knows.

Part Eight: Analysis of Revelations 19:2

2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

The Apostle John, the revelator, informs us that by this time the whore of the whole earth, the Great and Abominable Church, has already been judged and condemned and God has avenged the blood of the Saints of God that the Roman Catholic Church was responsible for torturing and murdering. John would be the first to tell you that the whore of the earth was the Roman Catholic Church. The author doesn’t think that political correctness would affect John in any way.

We end this scriptural analysis of the Great and Abominable Church with the Apostle John, learning how the Great and Abominable Church, the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; will be destroyed! Its destruction would then become a part history…gone forever!

Mormons apologize to Catholics

Roman Catholic apologists have no satisfactory answer that absolves the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages of this most grievous atrocity of the Inquisition; the murder of innocent victims, of the Saints of God, by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The victims are many and they are crying from the dust asking, “Oh God, how long will it be before you avenge our deaths, how long before you destroy the whore of the whole earth.” This is the cold, hard facts that cannot be disputed or denied.

Other Roman Catholic Sects Were Destroyed

Millions of Roman Catholic members, the Saints of God, who were not of the Novatians (leadership located in Rome) sect, were tortured and murdered by the hierarchy of Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. Other non-Nicene or non-Novations sects included the Arianism, Anomoeanism, Donatism, Gnosticism, Pelagianism, and Macedonianism sects. Rome considered the above sects as heretics and these sects were eventually killed off by the ruling sect, the Novations. By the process of elimination, the Novation sect forced its views on humanity beginning somewhere around the time of Constantine, A.D. 337 to A.D 350.

Serbian Genocide and the Roman Catholic Church during WWII

During World War II, in 1941, there was persecution of the Christian Serbs, by the Catholic Croatian Ustaše regime who murdered 750,000 Serbs, another 250,000 were expelled from Croatia, and about 240,000 Orthodox Christians were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism. Some 240,000 were re-baptized into the Roman Catholic Church, under duress. The victims were predominantly Christian Serbs, but it also included about 37,000 Jews. The Croatian authorities murdered about 750,000 ethnic Christian, non-Roman Catholic Serbs, residents of Croatia and Bosnia during the period of Ustaše rule, There were between 60,000 and 70,000 Christian, non-Roman Catholic Serbs who were murdered in Jasenovac concentration camp; the largest concentration camp ever built. This was not done by the Germans; it was done by the Catholic Croatians. The Catholic Croatian Ustase was supported openly by the Vatican and the Archbishop of Zagreb Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac of the Roman Catholic Church. The Jasenovac memorial lists 75,159 names of men, women and children Christian, non-Roman Catholic Serbs who were killed in this concentration camp during WWII.

The collaborators included Archbishop Stepinac, and the Vatican representative to fascist Croatia, Abbot Marcone and Stepinac, of the Roman Catholic Church, was convicted of war crimes after the war. Several members of the Roman Catholic clergy were involved in the genocide of the non-Roman Catholic Christian Serbs at Jasenovac, the Saints of God - notably the Franciscan priest, Pater Miroslav Filipovic, who was one of the commandants of the camp. Michael Phayer, The Roman Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965

Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XI

"(It was) an act of 'ethnic cleansing' before that hideous term came into vogue, it was an attempt to create a 'pure' Roman Catholic Croatia by enforced conversions, deportations, and mass exterminations. So dreadful were the acts of torture and murder that even hardened German troops registered their horror. Even by comparison, with the recent bloodshed in Yugoslavia at the time of writing, Pavelic's onslaught against the Orthodox Church.” (ibid)

What happened in Croatia was not the inquisition, but it is an example of what happens when the government becomes the church.

Many members of the Mormon faith, including some leaders, claim that the Roman Catholic Church is not the Great and Abominable Church, as noted in the Book of Mormon. If not the Roman Catholic Church, then which church? The world-wide Roman Catholic Church began at the death of Christ and has existed now for over 2000 years. LDS members who support this position, is a position of appeasement and of political correctness, all to avoid offending the Catholic Church of today. However, we already know that the Great and Abominable Church is not the Catholic Church of today.

Here is the proverbial question: “How can the Mormon faith accuse the Roman Catholic Church in this manner? Quite frankly, the Mormon faith does not accuse the Roman Catholic Church, God does!

The Great and Abominable Church

It is quite difficult to write about this subject without being wrongfully labeled by liberal thinking members of the Mormon Church, and being shunned. Professor Hester is a conservative and he make no excuses for how he feels or for how he thinks. Professor Hester knows that he thinks differently than many other men and he is okay with that. The author has learned to live with himself. It is refreshing to have the support of President Monson, when in the face of open ridicule; people will point at this author and condemn him for his courage and willingness to stand for correct principles without any compromise.

No one wants to walk around with a target on his back. Professor Hester was impressed by the Holy Spirit to write about this topic and it is his desire that what he writes will be well received and considered by the reader. The author does not want to inflame those who have their opposing opinions; however, there is little he can do about that, because the outcome of this book is not determined by the author, but by God. Professor Hester does not write to please any particular group; he writes only to please God.

Professor Hester has been richly blessed by God and God has revealed to him many of His mysteries. The author depends greatly on personal revelation when he takes on a task like this. Professor Hester suggests to the reader that the reader pray and ask God, the Eternal Father whether this book contains His will and His word, whether the Great and Abominable Church is the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, or not. Simply by asking God, God will reveal to you the correct principles on how to live your life. And, God also will answer those specific questions that you ask Him, such as, “Is the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages the church that is described in the Book of Mormon by the Angel of God and by the Prophet Nephi, as the Great and Abominable Church?” You are a child of God, God loves you and His promise is true and abiding, He will answer your questions and prayers.

This is an indictment, brought by God against the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; it is not against the individual members of the Catholic Church and it is not against the Catholic Church of today; to think otherwise would require the Plan of Salvation to be discarded, and that is never going to happen.

The Saints of God

Many of the Roman Catholic Church’s members of today also other Protestant Churches’s members, are considered by God to be the “Saints of God,” indeed Nephi the Prophet said that they “were” the Saints of God; that is what the Angel of God called them long before the restoration of the gospel ever happened. Whether they lived from 33 A.D. or in the current time period, in the twentieth century; if they live or lived righteously, obeyed the commandments, and lived according their personal knowledge of Gospel of Jesus Christ, then yes, they do qualify as the Saints of God. The title “Saints of God” is not reserved for the Apostles and Prophets or for Priests or Preachers or for the LDS Church members alone; the “Saints of God” include all:

the faithfulthe humblethe obedientwho live the commandmentswho love and worship Godwho revere Jesus Christ as the Redeemer

The way people have lived their lives, qualifies them as Saints of God. We are all sons and daughters of God.

Former President John Taylor said in 1873, “There were men in those dark ages who could commune with God, and who, by the power of faith, could draw aside the curtain of eternity and gaze upon the invisible world… have the ministering of angels, and unfold the future destinies of the world” (JD 16:197).

This so-called indictment of the Roman Catholic Church did not originate in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of our day. This indictment was pronounced by a Angel of God and by Nephi the prophet, between 600 - 592 b. c. In fact, this prophecy is considered to be a burden by many of the Mormons of today. Neither the LDS Church or its members can do anything that would reverse God’s condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages; that is God’s business, it is not our business. God did not ask for our permission to allow Him to indict the Roman Catholic Church, and neither should we expect Him to do so. Attempting to restrain God would be futile.

Like you, Professor Hester has known many great Roman Catholic members who are dear friends of his; they are good people! And the Roman Catholic Church of today looks very benign when compared to the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

This indictment is for the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, the organization itself, not the members. The author does not believe this prophecy foretells the destruction of all the members of the Roman Catholic Church, but it definitely does foretell the destruction of the organization of the Roman Catholic Church. On the Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord, all of the unrighteous will be burned and wiped off the face of the earth. Whether or not a specific person will be among those who are wiped off the earth will depend on the level of each person’s own righteousness. Two will be in the field and one will be taken and one will not.

World Domination by the Roman Catholic ChurchThe Pope Imposed the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494

According to editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Pope of Rome issued a bulls (means an edict of the Pope) in 1494. In the Pope’s edict, he divided the “New World,” discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, between Spain and Portugal.

When the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church initially drew the line of demarcation, little was known about the new world and the first line of demarcation missed South America entirely; later, the line was moved to 46 degrees and 30 minutes West.

Essentially, the Pope gave Africa, including the northeastern tip of South America to Portugal and the rest of the New World, to Spain.

Wherever Spain and Portugal ventured across the oceans, the Roman Catholic Church and its priests were there with the first explorers. The priests claimed the American Indians as new converts to the Roman Catholic Church. That began one-hundred and twenty-eight years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The Roman Catholic Missions dotted North America, South America, and China. The Roman Catholic Church was the only Christian church in the Western world from AD 33 to AD 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his ninety-six theses to the door of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church dominated the Western World for 1500 years. The Roman Catholic Church dominated Kings, Queens, and princes and princesses of all nations in the Western World, all nations bowed to Rome, from a little after the death of Christ, known as the apostasy, to AD 1500. After AD 1500, the Roman Catholic Church continued its domination of the Western World for another 300 years, even while the protestant religion began to make inroads against the Roman Catholic Church in nations like England and some Scandinavian countries.

Persecution of the Saints of God

Think of the hundreds of thousands, even millions of souls, Roman Catholic members and Protestants, who have been killed by the Roman Catholic Church itself, during the horror called the Inquisition. Yes, millions of souls. Think of the hundreds of thousands and millions of indigent people in the Americas who were killed by the Roman Catholic Church, when they refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.

Catholic Church of Today

For most of his life, the author thought the Catholic Church of today was the Great and Abominable Church. In fact, while attending Orem Heatheridge 5th Ward in the late 1990’s, he distinctly remembers when he first challenged the statement that the Catholic Church was not the Great and Abominable Church. Now he knows that he was wrong! You might ask, “Why the change of heart?” And, he would answer:

“I was remiss by ignoring and not applying the Plan of Salvation to this discussion. Later, I was inspired by personal revelation from God and I was given to know and understand that the Catholic Church of today, including its leaders, cannot be punished for the sins committed by the church leaders of the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.”

It is that simple!

The Catholic Church of today is not the Great and Abominable Church, but the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages most certainly is.

The Book of Mormon Prophecies

Professor Hester does not expect people of other religions to believe in these Book of Mormon prophecies. It is hard enough for many LDS members to believe. In fact, some do not believe. It is politically unacceptable to some LDS members to identify the Roman Catholic Church as the Great and Abominable Church. But if a person believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, they must also believe the Book of Mormon; not just bits and pieces that they choose, but the book as a whole. Whether you and anyone else believes in the prophecy or not, it does not matter--if the prophecy is true and of God, it will happen. The Author knows that God does not lie and Professor Hester believes in this prophecy because he has received a personal confirmation of the Holy Spirit that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon is Holy Scripture from God. God would not confirm the truth to the author in one way and then confirm the truth differently to someone else. Professor Hester’s witness is sure and certain. He knows this is hard to internalize but the author supports God with all his heart. This destruction will be an event generated by the Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord. At that time, all the wicked on the whole face of the earth will be destroyed. Professor Hester will leave the destruction of the Great and Abominable Church and the destruction of the wicked of the earth to be dealt with according to God’s judgment.

Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, received a visitation from an Angel of God, who specifically gave the details describing the “Great and Abominable Church.” Some people of today think that the Mormons should extend the hand of friendship to Catholics. In fact, we are now told by some people and by this author that the Catholic Church of today is not that Great and Abominable Church, as described by Nephi the Prophet.

Who is right and who is wrong?

Obviously, everyone cannot be right. Why should Mormons befriend a church that God has condemned and identified as the “Whore of the whole earth?”

Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 6:12

“12. And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent an fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfill his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things.”

D&C 29:21

“21. And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.”

D&C 88:94

“94. And another angel shall sound his trump, saying: That great church, the mother of abominations, that made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, that persecuteth the saints of God, that shed their blood—she who sitteth upon many waters, and upon the islands of the sea—behold, she is the tares of the earth; she is bound in bundles; her bands are made strong, no man can loose them; therefore, she is ready to be burned. And he shall sound his trump both long and loud, and all nations shall hear it.”

Joseph Smith the Prophet Weighs-in

D&C Section 29: 21

21 And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.

Standing for that Which is Right

Conservative Mormons need to stand up and be courageous and stop people from teaching false doctrine, wherever they find it. Yes, we agree the Great and Abominable Church is not the Catholic Church of today, but the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, is most certainly the Great and Abominable Church, the Whore of the whole earth; the evidence is irrefutable.

The conservatives have only themselves to blame if they sit back and do nothing, especially when they know false doctrine is being taught.

In the scriptures, Nephi did not spell out the name of the Great and Abominable Church as being the Roman Catholic Church; that is because the prophecy was given almost 600 years before the Roman Catholic Church was formed. But, when you read the description of the Great and Abominable Church, as described by the Angel of God and Nephi, and translated by Joseph Smith, historically it could not be any other church but the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. Some LDS Church members maintain the Great and Abominable Church is a generic reference and that Nephi’s prophecy does not single out or identify any one particular church and they use 1Nephi 14:10 to support their position.

The Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages

During the Dark Ages, in the Western World there was only one church in the Western World, not two churches. That one church was the Roman Catholic Church. For about 1500 years, the Roman Catholic Church was the only Christian church on earth, excluding the Eastern Orthodox Church. For 1830 hundred years, the Church of the Lamb of God did not exist anywhere on earth. In about 1500, in Martin Luther’s time, the Roman Catholic Church began to splinter and other protestant religions split off from the Roman Catholic Church. It may be said by some, that originally the protestant churches differed little from the Roman Catholic Church, over the long haul, they would be wrong. As time passed, many protestant religions were formed because of the differences between them and the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. Their teachings reflect their differences, although their roots may be said to be in the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, they were different from the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

Professor Hester supports the fact that the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages is the Great and Abominable Church by using the actual history of the Roman Catholic Church to prove it. For over 1500 years the Roman Catholic Church was the only Christian church on the earth and the Roman Catholic Church is the only church that for centuries tortured, enslaved, and murdered its own members. No other church has a history like the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, none. It is truly, one of kind.

Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:26

“. . . thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches..”

Nephi tells us that the Great and Abominable Church, “is most abominable above all other churches.” In our time, there are many other churches but the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages is still the “most” abominable above all other churches. It was singularly the “most” abominable church on the face of the earth and Nephi also tells us that the Great and Abominable Church will fall in a single day and that its fall will be great. Its fall will astonish the whole earth. The Great and Abominable Church is the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. All other churches get a pass. The Roman Catholic Church is in a class of its own. No other church on the face of the earth matches Nephi’s description in verse 5 of chapter 13. The world-wide Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, for over two-thousand years, has slain the Saints of God (members of the Roman Catholic Church and others), it has tortured the saints, has bound them down and yoked them with a yoke of iron and it has brought the Saints of God down into captivity. And the devil, according to Nephi, is the founder of that Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

If, it is possible for an issue like the Great and Abominable Church to be misunderstood by so many people, then that automatically raises the question; are there other issues that also are being taught in this manner? The author leaves that subject for someone else to address.

My Campbell Family

My Campbell family line extends to Professor Hester’s 14th Great-Grandfather, Dugal Campbell, born 1427 in Inverary, Argyleshire, Scotland. His 9th Great-Grandfather, Duncan Campbell, was born May 7, 1588. Duncan and his wife, Mary McCoy, reared their own family in Kenmore, Scotland. John Campbell was Duncan’s son.

MY 8th Great Grandfather was John Campbell

John Campbell was born in 1637 in Kenmore, Scotland, the son of Duncan Campbell and Mary McCoy. On January 7, 1657, John married Grissel Campbell who was born August 6, 1637, the daughter of Hew Campbell and Agnas Iruine. John and Grissel had three brawny sons, Robert, William, and David. John was a Covenanter and in 1685, at the age of 52, John and his wife Grissel and their three sons were all forced to leave Scotland by King James II.

On February 6th year of our Lord 1685, King James II became King of England, Wales, and Ireland and was crowned King on April 23, 1685. As soon as he had been crowned king, King James immediately set about to force the Roman Catholic Church down the throats of his unwilling subjects. The whole land objected but none objected more than the people of Scotland. His reign was cut short by total rebellion; he was king for only three years, ten months and three days. During the revolution of 1688, King James II was deposed; by then, the die had already been cast, judgment rendered, and the sentence carried out on John Campbell and his family.

Those Covenanters (Puritans, Protestants, mostly the Presbyterians in Scotland) who refused to sign the Oath of Allegiance were thrown into prison by the hundreds. John Campbell and his family were Covenanters and staunch Presbyterians; John refused to sign the Oath of Allegiance. As a result, they were about to be confined in the Dunnotter Tolbooth (prison) in Stonehaven, Scotland. Laird George Scot of Pitlochie, Scotland, who lived twenty miles from Kenmore, Scotland, was released from Dunnottar Tolbooth on the condition that he take a hundred and twenty-five Covenanters, currently languishing in the Dunnottar Tolbooth, to the Americas. They incentivized Laird Scot by requiring the hundred and twenty-five Covenanters to each sign an indentured servant contract requiring four years of service to Laird Scot or to remain in the prison.

Laird George Scot of Pitlochry, Scotland, chartered the ship the Henry & Francis of New Castle England. The vessel was three hundred and fifty tons, three-masted Galley. The length was one hundred thirty-seven feet; the beam thirty-seven feet, with twenty Great Guns, and a crew of twenty-five. This vessel also would accommodate one hundred twenty-five Covenanters, their children and each family’s belongings. The Henry and Francis was a fairly large vessel for its time, in 1685.

As a comparison one hundred years later the notable HMS Indefatigable of England in 1796, was one thousand three hundred tons, a hundred sixty feet long, beam forty-four feet five inches, a triple decker before one deck was removed, with sixty various cannons, and a crew of three hundred ten officers and men.

John Campbell’s voyage to America was an odyssey of tragic proportions and immense sacrifice. All of the crew, except for two, died on the fifteen-week voyage. Laird Scot and his wife also died. In total, over seventy people not counting the crew, children, and babies, died on the voyage, all buried at sea. It was a voyage that made monuments out of men. Those who survived were made stronger, they stood a little taller, and when they spoke, people listened.

King James had already executed some prominent people and in May had imprisoned 167 covenanters in the Donnottar Tolbooth in Scotland. Here is the Oath of Allegiance:

Oath of Allegiance to King James II

“I, do hereby abhor, renounce, and disown, in presence of the almighty God, the pretended declaration of war, lately affixed at several parish-churches, in so far as it declares a war against his sacred majesty, and asserts, that it is lawful to kill such as serve his majesty, in church, state, army, or country.”

It was now early summer and the King was still trying to consolidate his subjects and persuade them to sign the Oath of Allegiance. As everyone knew, King James II was Roman Catholic, whereas the most of Scotland for over the years had already converted to Presbyterianism.

This is the story of Professor Hester’s 8th Great-Grandfather, John Campbell, his wife Grissell Campbell of Kenmore, Scotland and their three sons, Robert, William (Professor Hester’s 7th Great Grandfather), and David. In addition, Professor Hester’s 8th Great-Grandfather Laird of that Ilk, James Kincaid from Campsie, Stirling, Scotland sailed with the Campbells. All were passengers on the Henry and Francis in 1685.

John Campbell was a compassionate man, humble and imbued with personal integrity, a Scotsman, a warrior, and most of all, a family man. As most of the Clan Campbell, he was a Presbyterian, a third generation. The Presbyterian Church of today is not the same Presbyterian Church that John attended in Scotland in 1685, except in name only. John put his personal relationship with God, before all else; before his religion and before his own family; in doing so, God richly blessed John and his family.

It happened! The Roman Catholic Church is guilty of having persecuted and of murdering the Saints of God of the British Isles, the true believers of their own generation.

Condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church

In order to convert chaos into order it is necessary to deal with the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages separately from the Catholic Church of our day. Although they may bear the same name or similar name, the Catholic Church of our day has evolved from a civilization that is in the past. The Roman Catholic Church developed over a long period of time, over two thousand years. To connect the Catholic Church of today to the infamous Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, the church that instituted the Inquisition in order to enrich its coffers and slaughtered its own members by the hundreds of thousands, is just not fair.

When conversing about the Great and Abominable Church, the Catholic Church of today should not be a part of that conversation. The author will explain in his conclusions why the Catholic Church of today does not share the condemnation of God that is reserved for the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

Some liberal thinking people of today would say, “Get over it!” That is certainly not the Catholic Church of our generation. And, they would be right! Whoever is expressing this “Get over it!” attitude should not be addressing this author. The people of this generation are not condemning the Roman Catholic Church; the people of this generation are quite liberal and will forgive anyone for just about anything. The person that should be addressed is God Himself. Professor Hester for one, does not question God’s attitudes, motives, or His judgment.

Did God really call the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages, the whore of the earth? Did the Angel of God say that?Did Nephi say that? Yes! Yes, and Yes!

At the time of Nephi’s prophecy, Christ had not yet come and the Roman Catholic Church had not yet been formed. At the time of Nephi’s prophecy about the Great and Abominable Church, it was a church without a name. When the Angel of God told Nephi about the formation of a church that was abominable above all other churches; did the Angel give Nephi an adequate description of the Great and Abominable Church? Yes, the Angel did give Nephi a description of the church that was worse than any other church and we should use the Angel’s description to identify which church the Angel was talking about.

As Nephi delighted in plainness and the description of the Angel was as plain as it could be, it was so plain that anyone with the slightest or even the lowest level of intelligence in our generation should be quite able to identify which church the Angel was describing. The Angel of God was describing the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages. No one needs someone else to tell them whether the Angel was describing the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages or some other church. The description is so detailed and so plain, that it leaves no doubt that the Angel was describing the Roman Catholic Church of the Dark Ages.

In Nephi’s prophecy, God promised to destroy the Great and Abominable Church on the Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord, the church that is most abominable above all other churches.

We all agree; that when God weighs a person, or an organization, or a nation in the balance and finds him, her, or the organization, or the nation wanting; then, God is justified in His judgment without any further discussion with His children. God thinks like God and speaks like God, not like a man. He is not worried about whether He is being politically correct. He thinks and speaks like God, because… He is God!

​​​​​​​​​​​​President Thomas S. MonsonProphet, Seer and Revelator

President Monson gave us counsel saying,

"It is impossible to stand upright when one plants his roots in the shifting sands of popular opinion and approval. Needed is the courage of a Daniel (Daniel 6), an Abinadi (Mosiah 11:20), a Moroni (Moroni 1-10), or a Joseph Smith in order for us to hold strong and fast to that which we know is right. They had the courage to do not that which was easy but that which was right.

We will all face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us - all of us - have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully but also as the determination to live decently. As we move forward, striving to live as we should, we will surely receive help from the Lord and can find comfort in His words. I love His promise recorded in the book of Joshua:

'I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee .... Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest'”

Born to be a loser!

Mormons Apologize to Catholics

byProfessor Donald N. Hester

USA CopyrightISBN-13: 978-1547079865Second Edition August 31, 2016

ODIUM THEOLOGICUMby Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)IThey met and they talked where the crossroads meet,Four men from the four winds come,And they talked of the horse, for they loved the theme,And never a man was dumb. The man from the North loved the strength of the horse,And the man from the East his pace,And the man from the South loved the speed of the horse,And the man from the West his grace. So these four men from the four winds come,Each paused a space in his courseAnd smiled in the face of his fellow manAnd lovingly talked of the horse. Then each man parted and went his wayAs their different courses ran;And each man journeyed with peace in his heartAnd loving his fellow man.

IIThey met the next year where the crossroads meet,Four men from the four winds come;And it chanced as they met that they talked of God,And never a man was dumb. One imagined God in the shape of a man. A spirit did one insist. One said that nature itself was God. One said that he didn't exist. They lashed each other with tongues that stung,That smote as with a rod;Each glared in the face of his fellow man,And wrathfully talked of God. Then each man parted and went his way,As their different courses ran;And each man journeyed with wrath in his heart,And hating his fellow man.

Table of Contents

About the Author

Professor Donald N. Hester

BS, MS, PhD. (abd) CFO/Controller/Executive Director

Professor Hester worked 22 years as a tenured college Professor, until 1996, when due to a diagnosis of terminal cancer; he took early retirement from the University of Alaska Anchorage. After recovering from terminal cancer, in the intervening years, he worked as an executive financial accounting professional in industry. Professor Hester has over 13 years of experience as Controller, Municipality Finance Director, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Executive Director and has worked under contract for the AICPA in the capacity of Technical Review. He is a CPA and he is active in his profession as a sponsor of Continuing Professional Education (CPE). Professor Hester is recognized as an expert in financial accounting and cost accounting with knowledge of many related complex issues, standards, and professional ethics issues. He completed a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, in Great Britain 1961-63; when there was only 6,000 LDS missionaries world-wide. He is a high priest and an avid home teacher. The author began a quest to complete his genealogy in 1976, the bicentennial of the United States of America. Over the years, his database has grown to over 54,000 records and is still growing. Professor Hester has completed the ordinance work for tens of thousands of his ancestors and their descendants. The work goes on!

Professor Hester, the Author:

John Campbell of Kenmore, Scotland – 1685 This book is coming in 2017.How to Write Your Personal History, 2014The Life and Times of Donald N. Hester – Born to be a Loser, 2014Knucklehead Accounting, 2013My Time with God - The Father of My Spirit, author’s autobiography, 2013How to Manage a Nonprofit like a For-Profit Business, 2013, published by the AICPA and subsequently by the author in 2015Analytical Procedure for Not-for-Profit Organizations, 2013, published by the AICPAComprehensive Professional Ethics, 2011, published by National Education for CPAs. Finances and Your Future: Tips for Young Single Adults, the Ensign, feature article, Sep 2007The Journal of Accountancy, 1994

Professor Hester, now over 70, has had a remarkable life, quite different from other men of this generation. His autobiography is full of “real” miracles, voices from the other side of the veil, personal revelations; and, his autobiography also is a compelling read. Learn about his interaction with God. Learn of his trials and tribulations and see how God has blessed him.